Watch San Diego Padres Games Online: Best Ways to Watch Live MLB Without Cable

The MLB playoffs are back on October 3rd.

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If you are a Padres fan who wants to watch almost all games of the regular season, you have options depending on where you live. Read on to learn everything.

In a hurry? Regardless where you are, you want watch almost all the Padres games with MLB.TV. You can get it and 150+ live TV channels with Fubo. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.

The San Diego Padres and their star players, such as Fernando Tatis Jr and Manny Machado, are looking for a breakthrough season to get America’s Finest City excited about baseball once again.

They did have a hint of that in 2020, but that is still the team’s lone winning record since 2010 and only playoff appearance since 2006. However, San Diego’s 2021 campaign was promising for much of it, and they made it all the way to the NLCS in 2022.

Are you a fan of the Padres or simply curious about what that future holds for the franchise? If yes and you want to see them play as often as possible, you will want to secure access to to MLB.TV.

This can be achieved either directly ($24.99/mo) or with a subscription to Fubo.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

Unblock Your Favorite Events & Teams With a VPN

If you can’t watch your favorite events or teams because of your location, a VPN will allow you to get the access you are entitled to, plus extra security and unequaled privacy. Check out our VPN Guide for everything you need to know, including our top pick ExpressVPN.

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Other brands worth checking out include Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost.

Padres TV Channels

Bally Sports San Diego was, until the 2023 season, the full-time home of the San Diego Padres. It broadcasted all games played by the club that were not shown exclusively on national or regional channels or have been selected for an online broadcast.

Currently, the Padres have no TV home. But Major League Baseball stepped up and now allows subscribers to watch games through MLB.TV — without the normal blackout restrictions.

Prior to the 2021 season, it was announced that 153 of 162 regular-season games would be shown on this regional sports network. This year, it is 158.

For the rest of the broadcasted games, options include your local Fox, NBC, or ABC affiliates, ESPN, TBS, Fox Sports 1 (FS1), or MLB Network. Currently, 9 games will appear on national channels as well as Bally Sports and 3 will show exclusively on Fox or ESPN.

In addition, a small selection of games will be exclusively streamed by Apple TV+ and Peacock Premium. Currently, only one game is scheduled for Apple TV+.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

Watching the Padres

There are many ways to watch at least some Padres games.

Streaming The Padres

It is only via streaming that you can watch every Padres game this season.

Fubo

Fubo (formerly FuboTV) offers a 150+ channel base plan that includes Bally Sports in all the areas that the channels are provided. For those in the San Diego area, that means Bally Sports West and Bally Sports San Diego. You get all this for $88.98/mo.

You add MLB.TV to the service for $24.99/mo. That gives you access to all out-of-market MLB games and all Padres games regardless of your location.

Fubo also provides a ton of sports channels including CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2, and the networks beIN Sports and TUDN. It also comes with all the local channels and a large selection of general “cable” channels.

All Fubo plans come with 1,000 hours of cloud DVR as well as the ability to stream on up to 10 devices at the same time. See our Fubo review for details.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM (formerly AT&T TV) provides the lone option for cord-cutters looking to watch Bally Sports San Diego and its Padres broadcasts. However, note that you need to be located in its broadcast area to get this channel through this streaming service‘s Choice plan ($99.99/mo).

Sadly, now that the Padres are on MLB.TV, you will miss most games since DIRECTV STREAM does not offer it as an add-on.

DIRECTV STREAM is available in San Diego and points to the east, including California’s San Diego and Imperial Counties and southern Arizona’s Yuma and Tucson, and Las Vegas. It is also available in Hawaii. Subscribers may also watch Fox, ABC, NBC, ESPN, TBS, FS1, and MLB Network.

All plans come with unlimited cloud DVR (online sign-up) and simultaneous streaming on unlimited devices. See our DIRECTV STREAM review for more information.

Get DIRECTV STREAM Free for 5 Days

Other LiveTV Sreaming services

If you do not mind not having access to all the Padres games, then your streaming service options open up. Other ones to consider include Hulu + Live TV ($69.99/mo), Sling TV ($55.00/mo), Vidgo ($69.99/mo), and YouTube TV ($72.99/mo).

Specialty Streaming Services

Increasingly, MLB games appear live on streaming-only services.

• Apple TV+ ($4.99/mo): Exclusively streaming two MLB games every Friday, and those will periodically feature the Padres. The club’s first appearance on Apple TV+ was set for May 13, 2022, an away game versus the Atlanta Braves.
• Peacock Premium ($4.99/mo): Also exclusively streaming baseball games with its expected to be on Sundays. The Padres should be a part of those streams as well. (Peacock review)
• ESPN+ ($9.99/mo): Provides streams of Padres and other baseball games throughout the season, but keep in mind that this option is generally more advantageous for out-of-market fans due to blackout restrictions that are generally imposed. (ESPN+ review)

MLB.TV

MLB.TV ($24.99/mo or $139.99/yr) is a great option to consider for watching the Padres. It provides access to all out-of-market games for every team and all games for the Padres. If you just want the Padres games, you can get MLB.TV for slightly less ($119.99/yr).

Currently, there is no blackout area for the Padres. But that may change in the future if the Padres find a new TV home. In that case, the blackout area will cover the southern part of Southern California (not the LA metropolitan area) and the southern portions of Arizona and Nevada as well as Hawaii.

Everyone else will get to watch those telecasts except for when the Padres play a local team. For example, Padres-Giants broadcasts are blacked out to MLB.TV subscribers in the Bay Area.

Note that MLB.TV does provide access to exclusive nationally televised games and this includes all playoff contests. So you will normally want to combine MLB.TV with a live TV streaming service.

You can get MLB.TV through Fubo.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

Antenna

When the Padres are being shown on Fox, ABC, or NBC, all that you need in order to catch the action is an antenna. Do note that appearances on Fox will be a lot more likely than ones on ABC or NBC. Also keep in mind that if the Padres return to the World Series, those games will be on Fox. Currently, two games are scheduled to appear on Fox.

For more information about using an antenna, see our guide.

Devices and TVs to Live Stream Padres Games

Both MLB.TV, Fubo, and DIRECTV STREAM support most devices:

Fubo and MLB.TV also support Xbox gaming systems. Fubo supports Hisense, LG, and Vizio smart TVs. MLB.TV supports PlayStation units.

The other streaming services offer pretty much the same support. Our streaming reviews have complete details.

Superpower Your Sports Streaming With a VPN

For the sake of privacy, security, and access, you should be using a VPN. They are low-cost and easy to use. We’ve been using them for years and our top pick is ExpressVPN. Other brands worth checking out include Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost.

i	Our VPN Buyer’s Guide provides a complete introduction and all you need to know to choose the best VPN for your needs.

About the Padres

San Diego is the only metropolitan area to be home to a Major League Baseball team and no other franchises in any of the other major sports leagues (NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLS). This became the case when the NFL’s San Diego Chargers became the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017.

The Padres are also the newest of the five California-based baseball teams. This expansion franchise started play in 1969, a year after the Athletics moved from Kansas City to Oakland. It has only played in two stadiums in its history: Qualcomm Stadium (1969-2003) and Petco Park (2004-present).

San Diego, playing in the NL West, is also the only California-based franchise to have never won the World Series. The best seasons in Padres history, when they won National League pennants, were in 1984 and 1998. Other playoff appearances occurred in 1996, 2005, 2006, and 2020.

After the Padres impressed with a 37-23 record in 2020, hopes were high in 2021. And the team lived up to those but only for part of the season. San Diego had a 66-49 record through 115 games and were on pace for 93 wins, which would have gotten the Padres into the playoffs.

However, their stretch drive went horribly as they went 13-34 the rest of the way and finished 11 games out of the playoffs.

Wrapping Up

Fans who want to watch the San Diego Padres on a regular basis should, in most cases, subscribe to MLB.TV ($24.99/mo) or Fubo ($88.98/mo). Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

FAQs

Where can I watch tonight’s Padres game on TV?

If the Padres are on traditional TV, they will be on Fox, ABC, NBC, Fox Sports 1 (FS1), ESPN, TBS, or MLB Network. Sometimes, they will be exclusively streamed by Apple TV+ or Peacock Premium (both $4.99/mo). But mostly, they will only be available with MLB.TV. You can get MLB.TV through Fubo.

How can I listen to the Padres on the radio?

If you are in or near the San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area, you will want to tune into either 97.3 The Fan or La Poderosa 860 AM to listen to Padres radio broadcasts. The former features English-speaking commentators while the latter option is for those who prefer to listen to the action in Spanish. Note that all of those radio broadcasts are available online to those subscribing to MLB Radio ($2.99/mo) or MLB.TV ($24.99/mo).

Is there a way to watch Padres games for free?

Yes, there is. Those who are outside of the club’s blackout area can periodically check out the team’s contests thanks to the MLB.TV Free Game of the Day. Another option for fans who have an antenna is to view Padres games that have been selected for regional or national coverage on a network television outlet, such as Fox, ABC, or NBC.

How do I stream Padres games on my phone?

If you subscribe to Fubo you can watch the Padres through the Fubo app on your phone. You could also stream on your phone via MLB.TV — either directly or from Fubo using TV Everywhere. All the other streaming services will allow you to stream the games that air on the channels provided.

How do I watch other National League West teams?

For information about watching the Padres’ divisional rivals:

• Arizona Diamondbacks — Bally Sports Arizona
• Colorado Rockies — AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain
• Los Angeles Dodgers — Spectrum SportsNet LA
• San Francisco Giants — NBC Sports Bay Area

What is the San Diego Padres 2023 schedule?

Here is the complete Padres regular-season schedule (EDT). Most games other than those on Fox and Apple TV+ should air on MLB.TV.

How do I watch teams besides San Diego?

See our guide on the team you are looking for:

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Frank Moraes

Frank Moraes is Content Editor at HotDog.com. He specializes in streaming, sports, and technology. You can see his writing on low-budget and "weird" film at Psychotronic Review — and many other places.

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